There are a few items in the store that I order for myself. They come in large cases, so I take home what I need and put the rest on the shelf in case anyone else is interested. This week I ordered tofu. Not because I particularly like tofu, but because I’ve given up meat for Lent. For the next six weeks I’ll need alternative sources of protein. If I appear miserable, that's why.
For a variety of reasons I’ve written about in the past, I believe pasture-based meat farming is one of the best ways to produce food. So — naturally — I had to give it up. Maybe it'll build some character.
Giving up meat has got me thinking about how meat is produced on a global scale. When I was in graduate school I had a few classes about the impact of geography on world history. Geography is not something we think about very often, nor is it deterministic, but it's pretty important. We act within the confines of land mass, climate, and riverways. Perhaps meat production would not be so global had America's geography been different.
The Mississippi river has had a big impact. When you combine it with the Missouri and the Ohio rivers, which both flow into it, it forms the longest, navigable waterway in the world. Something like 15,000 miles. And they all flow through land mass that is ideal for corn and soy farming. Because transportation is far less expensive by water than it is by rail, and because public policy since the 1970s favors large scale grain production, the United States has become the top producer of corn in the world. By far. And second in the world in soy production.
The grain is packed onto ships, taken down the Mississippi to ports in the Gulf, and from there shipped all over the world where it is processed into animal feed: Mexico, Japan, China, Argentina, the EU, etc. More than half of the world's meat production is dependent on the global trade of corn and soy.
And that's not even mentioning all of the other industries: ethanol, sweeteners, cooking oils, bioplastics, industrial chemicals, soap, lubricants, ink, pharmaceuticals, etc.. Trillions of dollars of global GDP derive from the corn and soy shipped along the Mississippi River and other waterways around the world.
Lent just had to remind me about all this didn't it. I'm always overwhelmed by the scale of "big." It seems overly complex when all cows need is some simple grass (not to downplay pasture management, which is in fact really complicated). Maybe it's even somewhat soulless. But at the same time it's also marvelous. The engineering feats, the technological triumphs, and the scientific advancements that led to all this are without a doubt incredible. But of course it has plenty of downsides that I won't bother getting into.
I've chosen to dedicate my life to promoting the "small." For me, eating locally and seasonally, eating local pasture raised meat, is not only about the better taste or nutrient makeup. It's also about supporting an economic system that I believe is simply better. I just had to give up a very satiating component of it for a while to help me appreciate it more. Hopefully the next few weeks pass by quickly.
The special bread Saturday is the dense and very satiating German style black bread. I might just have to keep them all for myself, though 😂.